Starting Over
by TheVintagePanda
Summary: California born and raised, Charlotte Harrison picks up and moves north to the small town of Forks. Once there a certain mechanic full of secrets captures her full attention and she cant keep him off of her mind. Set years after BD. Rated T will most likely to change to M later on.
1. Chapter 1

Washington kept true to its reputation. Since I drove passed the border of Oregon and Washington the rainfall hadn't let up once. I downshifted once I got off Highway 101, the clutch sticking a little as I did. I knew I was soon going to have to replace the clutch in my 1991 BMW 325. Luckily I was just hired on by the Olympic National Park to work on the Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge as a park ranger. I had gone to school, majoring in zoology, specializing in Marine Biology. I was excited to leave my northern Californian home to move up to the evergreen state of Washington. Though the sky was almost always a gloomy grey, the plants and vegetation of the state were a variety of vibrant colors.

A peeling sign on my way by read "WELCOME TO FORKS" below it, in small letters was: "pop. 3,545". I noted how small the town was compared to my own home city in California with a population of over 150,000. As I drove through the town of Forks, my new home, I noted how lazy the life in this town seemed. It was a Sunday afternoon, and the main street was littered with families here and there. They all seemed to know others walking about somehow, saying "hello" and waving to those they knew. I smiled to myself, I had always liked the idea of small towns, in knowing your neighbors, and living close to friends.

I followed the directions to the short sale house I had just purchased, being right out of college as a twenty-two year old, I had managed to skate by a lifetime of debt with a handful of scholarships and grants. Without financial aid, I knew that there would be no way I could have afforded to buy the house I just did. I only had to take out a small loan to be able to buy the cheap house. The previous owner had died and having no family to give it to, the house was put up for sale, and I had just gotten hired when I saw the house for sale and jumped on it.

A long drive, about twenty minutes outside of Forks, led to the old cabin. My nearest neighbor was about a mile away, thick trees separating us. I pulled up to the house, it had been empty for about six months now, the outside showed signs of wear. It was obvious the previous owner had not been able to keep up on the exterior of the house, shutters on the windows were barely hanging, the deck itself was in terrible condition, and it was amazing that the previous owner didn't die going through it. Just opening the door was hard enough, I had to jiggle the doorknob and throw my shoulder into the wood just to get it open. Inside was musty, everything was definitely old, but for the most part there was a charm to the antique house. Original hard wood flooring ran throughout; and the house seemed to be a museum, with old books, cameras, nic-nacs, and furniture. It took about two hours for me to unload and sort of get my belongings placed in the house. Upstairs there were three smaller bedrooms and a master bedroom that I claimed as my own.

The next morning the first thing I did was open all the windows in the house. I wrapped my sweater tighter around me, Washington was a heck of a lot more colder than northern California. I got showered and dressed in a red wool flannel shirt, with a grey thermal that had two buttons at the collar that were undone, dark washed Levi's, long wool socks, and a pair of hiking boots. I blow dried my long brown hair quickly and put on a little makeup around my green eyes before throwing on my old Levi's Jean Jacket and heading out the door to meet with my new boss at the field office.

Outside the morning dew still clung to the evergreen trees that surrounded my house. The driveway beside the home led to a tin garage behind the house; curious, and with time to spare, I walked down it to the building. With some effort I managed to pull open the doors and a small smile appeared on my face when I saw what was inside. Sitting there was a high sitting, large old four door Woodie, it was black with mahogany wood paneling, there was a rack on top of the old SUV, and the wheels were large, made for off-roading. I opened the door and got into the cab looking for the key, I pulled down the visor, felt around the dashboard, but nothing, then when I opened the glove compartment I found them. I turned them in the ignition and the SUV started up without a problem, though something sounded amiss as it sat running. Not daring to drive it and risk it braking down on me I shut it off and headed to my small white BMW.

Using my GPS and the address the office gave me, I drove down the long freeway with only the evergreen forest on either side of me. I bobbed my head up and down to the radio as I went, then out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of white. Turning my head I squinted my eyes as I tried looking harder into the thick of the trees. My car swerved as I looked, and I whipped my head facing back toward the road.

Before I knew it I was pulling up to a small portable building. A large man dressed in a ranger's uniform walked out to meet me.

"You must be Charlotte Harrison, right on time!" The man had a deep voice that came out of his mouth that was surrounded by a large beard.

"That'd be me sir" I said shaking his hand.

"Call me Pete," He said, "Come with me and I will get you a uniform and fill you in what's going on around here."

Over the next few hours Pete informed me about the refuge - Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge consisted of a portion of 870 islands, rocks, and reefs extending for more than 100 miles along Washington's coast - and showed me some of the islands where 14 different species of seabirds nested throughout the year. The sun was setting as we got back to the office and I headed to my car, done with my first day of work. Pete commented on my car, "You might need a better vehicle than that if you want to make it through some of the back roads here."

"I just discovered an old Woodie SUV today that was left behind by the previous owner of my house, but it sounds weird when I start it up, so I'm going to have to find someone to look at it." I informed him.

"The best auto shop is the La Push Auto Body, Jacob Black owns it, tell them Big Pete sent ya and they'll treat you right." He offered

"Thanks for the reference, I will check them out" I told him getting into my car.

"I'll see you on Wednesday!" He called

"See you!"

The great thing about working for the National Park was that it was part time and yet I got paid like I was working full time back home; plus with the added bonus of full benefits and tenure, I had managed to find a life-long career in the time other people my age were enjoying their 20's or starting graduate school.

The drive home felt a lot shorter than the drive there, and in no time I was in my pajamas sitting on the back patio enjoying a cup of hot chocolate and reading a new novel I had picked up at a small bookstore in Portland on the drive up here. I had just gotten to the seventh chapter when I felt my eyes drooping and decided to turn in for the night.

The next morning I got up to a freezing house, "Crap," I said aloud to myself, I had forgotten to close my windows yesterday. I did notice however that the house didn't smell musty anymore.

I decided after a light breakfast that I was going to head over to the auto shop on the rez Pete told me about and get that old Woodie in my garage checked out. I got ready as usual, putting on a black and white quarter sleeved shirt, and black ankle cropped pants with a small heeled boot. I grabbed my vintage Chanel bag I got from my grandmother, and my neutral colored draped lapel blazer that buttoned up at the elbows, a gold cuff and rings adorned my wrist and fingers. Thinking all of the sudden of the old black wide brimmed fedora I got at a flea market on the way here, I went over to the boxes against the wall and found it in the second one I opened, it fit snugly on my head. Finally ready, I headed out to the garage where the SUV sat. It started up just the same as it had the day before, something amiss as it ran. I gingerly shifted it into first gear and drove it out of the garage and down the drive, my BMW sat on one side, leaving enough room for me to get by in the SUV.

The sun was out today, and I had to put on my old Clubmaster Ray-Bans to see clearly as I got onto the freeway headed to La Push. The SUV managed to get up to around 60 miles per hour easily enough, but the motor still sounded off. Pulling onto the reservation, I downshifted to slow my speed. Looking around I could tell it was a small community, the houses looked similar in structure, but all had individual character. It wasn't hard to find the auto shop, it sat by itself with a few cars outside it with big painted letters across the top of the building saying: "LA PUSH AUTO SHOP".

I pulled into one of the parking spaces and hopped out of the cab. I walked into the small front office of the shop where a clearly bored teen was flipping through a magazine, his head propped up by his hand. He was clearly at least six foot tall, with broad shoulders and bronze skin, he was very big for a boy his age. He clearly didn't hear me, so I awkwardly cleared my throat once. His head snapped up in surprise, "Oh! Sorry! I didn't hear you come in!" He apologized.

"No worries," I said taking a look around the office, there were posters of old cars and hot rods all over the walls, "I was referred here by _Big_ Pete? He's my new boss"

"Big Pete! Yeah we know all about him here, he's the awesome ranger just down the way! My name is Seth, what can I help you with?" He asked

"I just moved into town, and I bought a house that came with that old Woodie," I pointed out the front window where the car sat.

"Man, lucky you!" He exclaimed

I laughed at his boyish excitement, "Yeah, but when I start it, it sounds like there is something wrong with the motor." I explained, "I don't know, I'm no car expert, but I can usually tell how a car feels when driving it, and this one is off."

"I get you," he nodded in understanding, "Let me go get Jacob, he's the owner, he can take a look at it."

I nodded and walked back outside to my car, a minute later Seth walked out of the garage with an even larger man who was wiping his hands off on a towel.

"I'm Jacob," the man introduced himself once they got up to me, holding his hand out.

"Charlotte," I shook his hand, "But you can call me Charlie."

"What can I help you with today?" He inquired, throwing the towel over a broad shoulder.

"I was wondering if you could take a look at my car here," I motioned over my shoulder, "I just came into possession of it and it sounds off when I start it up."

"Ok, pop the hood and I will take a look at it." He walked around to the front of the Woodie, "Man, you know what you have here right?" He looked back at me just as I opened the driver's door.

I gave him a blank look, "A really nice old Woodie?" I offered meekly.

His laugh was loud and booming, "This is a 1954 International R-140 4X4 Woodie!" he said excited.

I looked at him strangely, "...Cool?" I said trying to find the lever to pop the hood.

He shook his head with a smile, "There aren't a lot of these around anymore; very hard to find."

"Huh" was all I said finally finding the lever and pulling it, the hood gave a loud thump and popped open.

"How did you get this?" He asked pushing it fully open

I got back out of the car and joined him and Seth at the front of it, leaning against it I told him, "I bought the old log cabin down the freeway on a short sale, and when I finally moved up here - I'm from California - I found the house full of antiques and in the garage was this SUV."

"Old man Carl's old place?" He asked

"Carl Jenkins? Yeah." I said

"I never knew he was keeping this beauty locked away in that tin shed. The man was mostly a hermit, he never went into town except to go to the grocery store, and never socialized with everyone."

"Interesting," I murmured, "Well he left me a house full of wonderful items," I laughed lightly, "It's like living in a museum."

"Ah ha!" Jacob exclaimed, "There's just something wrong with the starter, an easy fix," He informed proud he found the problem.

"How long do you think it will take to fix it?" I asked, "I'm going to need this car for my job."

"Oh yeah, Seth told me about how Big Pete was your boss. So you're the new ranger around here. We heard there was going to be a new one after the last one moved up north." Jacob said, "Well I think we have the part we need for this fix, so I can probably have it ready by tomorrow morning, I'll make it the priority in the shop because you're Pete's friend."

"Awesome!" I said, "I don't care about cost, I just need it as soon as possible."

"Alright, no problem, just leave the keys with me and I will get started on it, do you have a way back?"

"Uhhh...I didn't think about that, shoot" I said stupidly.

Jacob laughed at me, "No worries, Seth can give you a lift back to your place."

"Are you sure that's ok?" I asked unsure.

"It's alright!" Seth said brightly smiling at me, "Come on! I'll give you the grand tour of this place!" He wrapped an arm around me pulling me away.

I laughed as I tossed Jacob the keys and let Seth pull me towards his own truck.

For the rest of the day Seth acted as my tour guide, showing me around the reservation, First Beach, and some of the best hiking trails trough the forest. He came to a stop in front of my house just as the sun was setting, and all of the sudden he told me seriously, "Charlotte, there is one thing," he began, looking unsure, "Don't go wondering in the woods at night, ok? There are wolves in the woods here, I don't want you to get hurt."

I looked at him softly, "Don't worry Seth, I'm from California, we do have forests there, but ours are full of bears and mountain lions, I won't go wondering after dark." I assured him.

He smiled at me and said, "Goodnight Charlotte"

"Goodnight Seth"

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><p>This is another Twilight fanfic of mine, so if you are interested in a PaulOC fic please check out my other one! I have more written so I will post the next chapter soon! Please review/fav/follow! Thank you!

A/N: This is more of a fluff-ier story, so there wont really be love triangle's or the main character turning out to be a vampire or supernatural being. Maybe another story, but I just kind of felt that Embry deserved some uncomplicated love.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I woke up and put on the heavy tan jacket with the federal ranger badge on the breast that Pete gave me the day before yesterday, I braided my long hair and pulled on a pair of hiking boots before going outside. Curious to see what else might be in the garage I walked into it. It was nearly empty save for random tools and such around, except in the corner of the garage sat an old motorcycle. I thought for a moment before walking up to it. The key for it was in the ignition, I had briefly rode a motorcycle earlier in my life and remembered how shifting it was similar to shifting a car.

I started it up and I roared to life, it was an old Harley that was a little too big for me to handle with comfort. I figured that I would ride it to the auto shop, that way I could just take my SUV to work from there. I ran back inside and grabbed a backpack with everything I needed for the day before getting back on the bike and taking off down the road. In Washington there were no laws about having to wear helmets while riding a motorcycle.

I pulled up to the shop and clumsily came to a stop and got off the bike. Jacob came walking out.

"What do we have here?" He asked chuckling.

"Another present from Carl," I said laughing, "A motorcycle way too big for me. How's my Woodie?" I asked

"As good as new! Carl apparently had bigger motor put into it, this baby can top speed at about 120." Jacob explained.

"Awesome!" I said, "How much do I owe you?" I asked going for my backpack to retrieve my wallet.

"Don't worry about it, we had the part just laying around, and it really didn't take that much time to fix." Jacob waved me off.

I looked at him disbelieving, "Are you serious?" I asked

"Completely, I had my top mechanic do it, and it took him no time." Jacob explained.

"Well can I at least give you this bike as thanks?" I offered

It was Jacob's turn to look at me with a disbelieving look, "This?"

"Yeah, is it not a good bike?" I asked

"No, it's a badass bike, but that's to much!"

I laughed, "This thing is way to big for me to handle, I love riding on the back of them, but driving them doesn't come naturally to me." I explained tossing him the keys, "Please I beg of you, take it off my hands, it would just continue to sit in the garage if I took it back home."

Jacob shook his head, but finally conceded saying, "I will give it to the guy that actually worked on your car. He loves old bikes, he'll be just as ecstatic as he was to work on this old thing." He said patting the hood of the Woodie.

"Well it's the least I can do for taking care of my car."

We parted ways when I figured I better leave before I became late to work, Jacob told me to say hello to Pete and I was on my way.

On my way to work I noticed on the passenger seat was a pile of fabric, grabbing it I realized it was a jacket, a large one at that. It must belong to the mechanic that Jacob said worked on my car. I mentally noted to stop by the shop sometime to return it.

Pete commented on how nice my Woodie was when I pulled up to the field office, and before I knew it we were on foot walking around in the woods, Pete pointing out important things here and there. He informed me that the biggest pest of all that we would come across would be teens partying in the woods and diving off the cliffs. He asked me if I had any combat training of any kind, I told him I took years of karate and kick boxing growing up, and that I had defended myself a couple times living on my own in San Francisco. Apparently a lot of people like to be doing things they aren't suppose to be doing in the cover of the forest.

The next two days were filled with orientation and getting to know my new surroundings. The coast was beautiful, and James Island sat in the near distance from First Beach.

Saturday came quickly, and I found myself grocery shopping in town. The sun was out today, I wore less layers today, only a long loose grey cardigan with a white loose blouse and light colored jeans with tears here and there, and black Birkenstock sandals. My fingers were adorned with numerous rings and a black leather bracelet was wrapped around my wrist, large circular sunglasses covered my green eyes from the bright sun.

I drove my SUV away from town and spontaneously decided to visit First Beach because it was such a nice day out. When I pulled into the small parking lot of the beach, there were no other cars. I got out and walked down the beach leisurely.

The sun was high in the sun, it was just after noon by now, as I looked out across the water, James Island was in the distance, no fog covered it from sight. Looking at the horizon I thought just about life and how well things have finally turned out for me. I was finally able to leave the nest, to leave home and be truly independent and my own person. For my whole life I strove to be where I was today. I smiled at the thought.

Suddenly noise came from the other end of the beach, toward the parking lot. It was laughter; I was no longer alone on the beach. I decided to start heading back when my name was called out.

"Charlotte!" My name was called again, I turned to look.

Seth was running towards me, with no shirt. I laughed as he stumbled over a dip in the sand.

"Charlotte!" He said now in front of me, "I knew you were here when I saw your car in the parking lot. What are you up to?" He asked walking with me toward the parking lot.

"Oh you know," I started, "Just pondering life." I said wistfully

He laughed, "Well don't ponder too hard, we wouldn't want that pretty head of yours to get any ideas of leaving. Come on, I want to introduce you to my friends, Jacob is here too!" He told me pulling my arm towards his group of friends.

"Aren't you cold?" I asked laughing

"I've got a higher body temp than the usual person." He explained rubbing the back of his head

I shook my head and followed him.

His group of friends consisted of eight or so boys and a couple of girls here and there.

"Charlotte!" Jacob greeted cheerfully coming up to Seth and I.

"Hey Jake" I replied

"How's your amazing car treating you?" He asked

"Amazing!" I exclaimed, "It runs like a charm! I can't thank you enough!" I responded

"Don't thank me," he said, "Thank Embry," he turned away and called for the man named Embry.

A tall man the same age as Jacob, and just as tall -around 6'4"- walked up to Jacob.

"What's up?" He asked, a deep voice coming from his mouth, making me shiver slightly.

"Are you cold?" Seth asked curiously tilting his head.

"No I'm fine" I responded quietly

"This is the owner of that Woodie," Jacob said motioning to me.

I looked up at the man named Embry, his eyes connecting with mine, and suddenly it was like the whole world disappeared other than him and I. I felt my cheeks heating up under the intense stare of his chocolate eyes, they were a warm brown that seemed to stare into my soul, and I felt myself melting.

There was a clearing of a throat nearby and I snapped out of my daze. Embarrassed I looked everywhere than at the man that seemed to have caught my undivided attention earlier.

"Embry," Jacob said smirking, "This is Charlotte, Charlotte this is Embry Call."

"Nice to meet you," His smooth voice said as he stuck his hand out for me to shake.

I smiled shyly, "Nice to meet you too," I shook his hand, sparks seemed to shoot up my arms, "Thanks for fixing my car." I continued.

"Thanks for the bike," He replied with a cute smile.

I realized that I was still holding his outstretched hand and quickly dropped it.

"So what are you up to today Charlotte?" Jacob asked chuckling at something secret

"Nothing much, just taking a walk before Seth ran into me." I explained, "And I told you to call me Charlie," I smiled stubbornly.

He smiled back, "I know an older guy, the chief of police in town, called Charlie, don't think you want to get mistaken for him."

I laughed, "You're right, I forget sometimes how Charlie is actually a guys name, Charlotte is just too girly for me I think."

"Charlotte is a beautiful name," Seth said disagreeing throwing his arm around my neck.

"Come and hang out for a bit, yeah?" Jacob asked

I thought about it for a minute, unsure, then looked at Embry for a split second, he was staring at me. Something in the look of his eyes told me to say, "Sure, why not". And Seth cheered and dragged me away from our small group toward the rest of his friends.

I was introduced to a number of people, there was a Sam, Paul, Jared, Quil, Emily, Brady, Collin, and the only non-native person was a girl named Renesmee, she looked to be about a little less than Seth's age. There were others too, but I couldn't remember their names. Some of the boys were playing a game of football, and I was standing a little awkwardly to the side. I was never good with social situations where I didn't really know anyone. My hair was blowing annoyingly in my face so I pulled it back into a messy bun. Suddenly a bottle of coke was put into my line of vision. I looked up to see Embry looking at me with an unreadable look on his face.

"Thanks," I said shyly taking the coke, our fingers made contact, making me shiver once again, the act reminded me, "Oh!" I looked up at him, "I have something of yours!" He looked at me questioningly, "It's in my car," I said starting toward the parking lot where my Woodie sat.

He quietly followed me. He didn't seem to be much of a talker. Getting to my car I opened the driver's door and had to climb into the cab to reach over to the passenger's side to retrieve his jacket.

"I found this in here when I picked up my car at the shop," I explained handing the jacket over to him, his hand covered mine as he went to take it from me, I shivered once more. He must of seen this, because instead of taking the jacket and keeping it, he opened it and draped it over my shoulders, I looked up at him suddenly.

"Thanks, but you seem to need it more than me right now." He smiled softly down at me.

I blushed and looked down at my feet, then gathered courage to look up at him with a smile, "Thanks" I said putting my arms through the sleeves. The jacket was big on me, but gave me warmth, it smelled like a man's jacket, like the forest and cologne. Together we walked back to the group in silence, I never knew how to talk to attractive guys, I was always the awkward girl struggling with the right words to say to them.

Getting back to the group Seth came up to me and chatted about random little things, making polite conversation. Then some of the girls came up to me and asked about my life back in California, and if it was true that it was always sunny and warm. I laughed at told them that it was usually, but that we did get some bad rain storms, but we were in a drought for the last couple of years, we definitely didn't get rain like they did here in Washington. I eventually warmed up to the girls, they were all kind and told me about the best places to shop in town and around Forks. The boy's game of football grew in number and now all of them seemed to be playing. They tackled each other and went long for the ball with amazing speed. I watched Embry unconsciously out of the corner of my eye as I continued to talk with the girls. He was faster than most of them, and the long sleeve thermal he wore showed off his muscle, giving suggestion to the strength he has. I made myself stop staring at him and focus on my ongoing conversation with Emily, Kim, and Renesmee.

The sun had almost fully set when I realized I should be heading home, I had to work tomorrow. I walked up to Seth and told him I had to get going, then up to Jacob who was standing by Embry.

"I've got to be heading home now Jacob, I have to be at the office early tomorrow." I explained to him.

"Well maybe we will see you sometime when you're on your patrol, we've been known to get stopped by Pete a number of times for cliff diving." Jacob laughed.

"Thanks not funny Jacob! You can get seriously hurt by jumping off those cliffs!" I warned

Jacob laughed at me and said, "We've been doing it for years now and no one had gotten hurt."

I thought for a minute before saying, "Do you know how many species of fish and sea life you..." I went on and on about the endangered species and whatnot that they could be interfering with.

Jacob laughed harder, and Embry looked amused, "You are definitely a ranger," he mused, "I can see why they hired you." he teased.

I scoffed and turned away, "See you around Jake," then looked back slightly toward Embry and said softly, "It was nice meeting you Embry." with a shy smile.

"You too," He said softly staring at me as I turned away and headed to my Woodie.

When I got home I realized that I was still wearing Embry's hoodie. I smiled at how sweet he was, and how few words he spoke. It also scared me how deeply the feelings I felt so quickly around him were. That night I slept in his hoodie and it was the deepest sleep I had gotten in a long time.

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><p>I have much more written! So review, favorite, follow and I will try to have the next chapter up tomorrow!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days I was busy with work, patrolling the cliffs and forest trails every day, and keeping track of what species were around this time of year -mainly a couple different species of sea birds. I enjoyed my work more day by day and became very happy with the life that I had created for myself here.

I was in town, after work on a Thursday, it was the beginning of my weekend, sitting at a diner on the corner of Main street, enjoying a cheeseburger when the chief of police walked in. He took a look around and noticed me, with a raised eyebrow he walked over, "Mind if I joined you?" He asked.

"Not at all, sir" I replied politely

"Name's Charlie," He extended a hand over the table to me.

"My name is Charlotte" I said shaking his hand.

"The new ranger over at Needles Wildlife right?" He asked

"That's right"

"If you need any help at all just let me know, I know there just a few of you over there."

"Thank you sir, I know Pete would be glad to have extra help if we are ever in need of it."

I finished up with my meal and pulled out my money to pay, but Charlie stopped me, "It's on me today," he said, "You can get the next," He continued. I laughed and stood up, "Until next time, have a good night Chief," I told him, he replied, "You too Ranger."

On the way home driving my BMW, I noticed that the shifting was getting worse, the clutch was finally going out on me. Frustrated I mentally told myself that I would take it to Jake's shop sometime tomorrow.

Tomorrow came quickly, and I found myself driving to Jake's with my sketchy BMW, happy to finally be taking it in to get looked at.

I had just pulled up to the shop, and just stepped out of the car when Embry appeared out of the garage. He smiled at me and the butterflies started in my stomach, he must have seen me pull up.

"What's up?" he asked looking at me with kindness in his eyes, I felt myself melting once more.

"Couldn't keep away from me Charlotte?" I heard Seth calling from the office I laughed at him

"No you're just too cute, Seth, to stay away from" I teased

"I'm not cute! I'm more like sexy!" He retorted with a pout

I laughed, "Nope, more like a cute puppy!" I called back

Before he could say anymore Embry turned to him and asked, "Don't you have work to do?"

"Nope!" Seth replied childishly before retreating back into the office.

Embry shook his head and muttered, "I don't know why Jake hired him,"

I laughed and said, "He's adorable," Embry looked at me with another unreadable look, he did that a lot.

I cleared my throat and looked away awkwardly and said, "Anyways," I turned toward my car, "I think my clutch has finally gone out on me." I explained.

"Hmm...mind if we take if for a test drive?" Embry asked rubbing his chin in thought.

"Not at all," I said tossing him the keys.

I got in the passenger seat and watched him as he pushed the seat all the way back and even still looked too big for my car. I giggled a little and he looked at me questionably.

"You just look way too big to fit in here," I explained with another giggle, the look he gave me was filled with a tenderness that made me go silent and stare at him.

He looked away with a different kind of smile and started the car, "It's starts fine," he said putting it in reverse.

"Ahh I see what you mean, you can tell there's something wrong with the clutch when you back up," He muttered, trying to remember everything.

We drove down the road, him shifting obviously knowing what he was doing. We pulled back into the parking lot, and when we parked he looked over at me, "Well, you're clutch definitely needs replacing," he confirmed.

I laughed, "Just as I thought," I replied, "Can you-"

"I can fix it, no problem" he finished

"I take it you can fix anything," I joked

"Anything," he replied, "Anything at all, you just name it," he continued slightly more serious this time.

The space in my car seemed even smaller now. Then he opened the door and got out. I followed and saw as he reached up in the sky stretching.

"I don't need it fixed any time soon really, I only use it to go around town, my SUV is my primary car right now." I informed him going to stand at the trunk of the car.

"Ok," he said, "No one around here really seems to drive manuals anymore, so we don't have the part in stock, so I will have to order it and have it shipped in." He said

"No problem" I said looking around awkwardly, this guy was way too attractive for me to talk to normally. Then thinking all of the sudden, "Here!" I said getting his attention, I pulled a piece of paper I had randomly in my purse and a pen and wrote down my cell phone number. Handing it over to him I saw the surprise look on his face, "So you can call me when my car is done?" I offered

"R-right," He said clearing his throat and looking away.

"So uh, yeah" I looked back toward the road just remembering that I had once again forgotten to secure a ride back to my house, I guess that was the problem in not really knowing anyone around town.

"Do you need a ride back?" He asked.

I shamefully looked down at my face and muttered, "Yeah".

"No problem," He said simply, "Let me just grab my keys from inside."

I was about to protest, but he was already walking through the office door.

He came back out and motioned me towards a large truck, "Does everyone around he have a truck?" I wondered.

"Pretty much," He answered with a chuckle, apparently I had said that out loud, "Once the first bad storm comes around you'll see why. You can't get stranded in a big truck." He continued.

"Oh, that makes sense, I hope I never get stranded, I'm not use to that bad of storms."

"Don't worry" He said opening my door for me, "I'll come rescue you if you do." And closed the door, leaving me wide eyed and blushing. Did he really have to sweet all the time? I questioned to myself.

The drive was mostly quiet, rain had started to come down in buckets.

"Jeez, rain just comes down with no warning at all here." I commented looking out the window.

Embry chuckled from beside me, "Welcome to Washington" he said.

We passed the beginning of a trail that Pete had showed me the other day, and I couldn't help but stare at it as we passed. I had yet to go exploring on the trails, mainly because I didn't want to get lost and end up dying in the woods. Okay, maybe that was a little extreme, but it could happen.

Embry must have seen me because he said, "If you ever want to hiking, you can ask me and I can show you some of the best trails around here. Some of them too many people use so there aren't a lot of wildlife around them anymore, but the ones the guys and I use are still unknown to the people who live in town. I looked over at him, he was looking out at the road as he drove, his cheekbones were defined, and I found myself wanting to run my fingers down his jaw line. Snapping out of it, I said, "That'd be great".

After telling him what road to turn down, we arrived in front of my house in no time. It was the afternoon by now, and I got out of the truck and walked towards my door, Embry followed me. I stopped as I unlocked the door, and turned to look up at him. He in turn looked down at me, and for a moment we were quiet, just standing there and looking at nothing else but each other. Building up courage I asked, "A-are you hungry? I was going to make spaghetti." and I bit my lip and looked away as he processed what I asked.

I heard him sigh, then move a strand of hair, that blew in my face, behind my ear and say, "There would be nothing more I would love to do, but" I looked up at him, ready for the rejection, "I have to get back to the shop, we're swamped right now." He looked sincerely apologetic I couldn't help but instantly feel forgiving.

"O-oh, right, don't worry about it," I said fast, "Well, thanks for the ride home and for getting my car in," I rambled opening my door, "So um, yeah, see you around." I smiled tightly, I couldn't help but feel embarrassed honestly, and with one last, "Bye." I closed the door in his crestfallen face. I felt so stupid, he probably had a girlfriend back on the rez, or at least a whole bunch of gorgeous native girls lined up to go out with him, what girl wouldn't want to? He was kind, sweet, and considerate.

"Ugh," I said to myself on the other side of the door, "I'm so stupid" I chastised myself.

What I didn't know at the time, as I walked farther into the house, that Embry was still on the other side of the door, and was able to hear everything I said to myself with ease.

A couple of days I was lounging on the back patio enjoying the little bit of sunlight the day offered when Jake and a few others appeared on the drive by the patio. I jumped in surprise, falling off the bench swing, the book I held went flying, "What the hell," I muttered getting up from the ground and facing Jake, "Jake you can't just sneak up on me like that!" I exclaimed trying to calm my racing heart.

"Well I knocked on the front door but you didn't answer, so I figured you'd be back here." He laughed stepping onto the patio, I now noticed Seth, Quil, and Embry accompanied him, I seemed to naturally focus in on Embry, who was wearing a pair of cutoffs and a tight T-shirt, why did he always have to look so good? I quickly remembered the episode outside of my front door just days earlier and quickly looked away. I couldn't look at him without feeling so incredibly embarrassed.

I saw out of the corner of my eye, Embry picking up the book I had been reading. Shamefully I will admit that I was reading a romance novel about this strong warrior who was only romantic and sweet around the woman he loved. I panicked when I saw him look at the cover, then scanned the page that the book had landed open on, I watched as his eyebrow raise in curiosity and eyes widen at the context. "Crap", I thought to myself, it must be the part where the warrior takes his maiden to bed passionately, I hadn't gotten there yet. I bounded over to him and snatched the book out of his hands, hiding it inside my sweater under my arm. Something about the way he looked at me with those dark eyes had me shivering.

"What were you reading?" Seth asked curiously

"Nothing" My answer was echoed by Embry, I looked at him with red cheeks and that look was again on his face as he looked back at me.

I cleared my throat and quickly looked away from him, "So what are you guys doing here exactly?" I asked looking at Jake.

"Taking you hiking" He said making it sound like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Wh-" I started before he interrupted me again.

"Embry said you wanted to go hiking, and so here we are," He shrugged

"You know, usually one gives a girl a little heads up," I chided him crossing my arms.

"Well here is me giving you a heads up" He retorted

I shook my head in defeat, "All right, let me just go get ready." I headed toward the French doors that led inside. I turned to look at the group of boys, who still stood on the patio looking at me expectantly, "Well," I said, "Are you going to come in?" I questioned. They all bounded toward me, following me inside.

I looked around and told them, "Don't mind the mess, I'm still trying to get things organized, make yourselves at home." I told them before heading upstairs to my room.

I threw my hair up into a messy ponytail, put on a white racer back tank top and boot cut Levi's, and a deep pink flannel hoodie sweatshirt that buttoned up in the front. I put on my pair of hiking shoes and a baseball cap and I was ready to go in no time.

I bounded back downstairs with a backpack over my shoulder and announced I was good to go as I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. They all seemed to stare at my backpack and me like I was crazy.

"Do you plan on going camping or something?" Jake asked me

"What?" I asked, "You have to be prepared, what if something happens or someone gets hurt?" They all continued to look at me like I was stupid, "I'm a forest ranger remember?" I reminded them, that seemed to satisfy them and they nodded in realization.

We went out front and there were two trucks sitting there, "You guys can't fit in just one car?" I asked laughing.

"Not in those trucks, there's not enough seats." Seth said

"We can take my car," I motioned over to the SUV that sat proudly in the drive, "It can fit all of us." They boys seemed excited at the thought of riding in the old car.

I climbed into the driver's seat, and Jake, Quil, and Seth squeezed into the backseat, Embry climbed into the passenger next to me much to my despair, I just seemed to always embarrass myself in front of him every time I saw him.

I followed the boy's directions, Jake complain how he should have driven so we could get there faster, I told him I didn't trust him with my baby, and he just pouted. We went off road along a barely noticeable trail just big enough for my large Woodie. We stopped in a small clearing where the boys said this would be where we would set out on foot.

Embry had grabbed my backpack and when I went to get it from him he looked unsure about giving it to me, "It's not heavy," I assured him, "I'm the one that wanted to bring it all anyways, I can handle it." I finished. He handed it over to me wary.

We headed out and I couldn't help but be amazed as I pointed out all the different types of species of birds that flew around in the forest. The different types of plants themselves amazed me to no end. Some of the guys grumbled about how I wanted to stop every other minute to inspect a plant or spot a bird. I started to feel bad and tried to keep my amazement quiet and keep up with them without stopping; it was hard. Embry fell into step beside me and said quietly, "Next time I will take you by myself and you can look at everything you want. They are just being jackasses." I looked at him shocked, he must have somehow sensed how I wanted to keep stopping, I looked down at my feet and smiled to myself at how sweet he was. Unfortunately by doing that I didn't watch where I was walking and tripped over a branch across the trail. I braced myself to hit the forest floor with my eyes closed shut and my hands outstretched when an arm wrapped around my waist and stopped my fall. I look behind me, now upright, and saw a worried looking Embry, "Are you alright?" he asked me. "Y-yeah" I stuttered looking at him, "Thanks" I breathed. He nodded and let me go.

We continued for another 45 minutes, and I began to feel the weight of my backpack. I shifted it up higher on my back, but it just fell back to where it was. I just took a deep breath and tried to keep up with the guys. My legs were getting very tired by now, and started to ache. Embry, who was just ahead of me turned to check on me like he did every so often, and must have noticed my struggle. Before I knew it the back pack was being lifted over my head and off my being. I looked up at Embry who put it on himself and opened my mouth to argue, but he stopped me, "It's fine" was all he said. With the extra weight off me I was able to keep up with the guys easier, and Embry looked like the wasn't even carrying a backpack on him, it was like it really weighed nothing.

We seemed to exit the forest and came to a stop on a secluded cliff, a nice breeze greeted us. I breathed in the salty air with a smile, it reminded me of the beaches back in California. I didn't see Embry staring at me with a small smile of his own.

"This is amazing," I said looking out over the water. You could see James Island in the distance to the right of us.

The boys started to sit on the ground before I stopped them and ran to Embry, telling him there was a large blanket in the backpack.

"Of course there is," He chuckled slightly taking off the pack.

I spread the blanket on the ground and the boys took out food they had store in some small packs they had with them. We settled on the ground, and fell into comfortable conversation about nothing in particular. Quil seemed to be like Embry a lot, both quiet and reserved, but he was nice and teased Seth like a big brother. After just one sandwich and a cookie I was full; my backpack laid beside me and I laid down resting my head on it, I easily fell into a light sleep. When I woke up I found myself by Embry on the blanket, he was looking out onto the water with a thoughtful look on his face, his eyebrows were scrunched and I felt my hand reach out on instinct to smooth them out, midway I realized what I was trying to do and dropped my hand back to my side, Embry looked down at me softly, "You're awake," he mused. I nodded and sat up, stretching my hands high in the air and arching my back as I yawned; I felt Embry's intense stare on me as I did so.

"Where are the guys?" I asked looking around

He pointed toward the tree line and said, "They wanted to see who could climb the highest in the shortest amount of time."

"You didn't want to?" I asked looking back at him.

He just shrugged, "I guess I'm just not in the mood right now" looking at me with a strange look.

The boys came back down from the trees and we started back a short time later. When we finally got back to the car I was way too tired to drive back. Walking up to Embry, I pressed my key's into the palm of his hand and murmured for him to drive, then climbed into the back seat to sit in between Seth and Quil, letting a happy Jake sit up front with more room. I laid my head on Seth's shoulder and wrapped my hands around his arm and unconsciously nuzzled my head into his shoulder with a yawn, I didn't register the growl that came from the front of the car as I did so.

I woke up when the car came to a stop. I looked out the window and saw my cabin, then I noticed Seth who was biting his knuckles, looking down I was still pressed to his side, my hands wrapped around his arm.

"Oh! I'm sorry Seth!" I apologized quickly.

"Don't worry about it," he said scrambling to get out of the car as fast as he could

I got out and tried to find my back pack, I found it with Embry, who didn't look at me as he handed it to me. Is he mad at me? I wondered.

I walked to my door, then felt around for my keys before I remembered I gave them to Embry. I turned to call to him, and stumbled right into the man himself.

"Sorry" I mumbled backing away

"Here" Embry said handing me the keys

"Thanks"

He was about to turn away before he stopped, he looked at me for a second then said, "You know Seth has a girlfriend, right?"

I looked at him confused, "Yeah, s-" then the thought occurred to me, "Oh, you mean in the car - you don't think he thinks I like him do you?" I rambled on

"You don't?" Embry asked confused

I stared at him for a second then laughed, "Of course not! I told you he look likes a cute little puppy just the other day, I don't like those types of guys, plus he could be my younger brother, no, no, no he's too cute." I kept rambling.

"Yeah I can tell that's not your type," Embry smirk a knowing look in his eyes, then I remembered the book he found earlier.

"I-, that-, ugh y-you didn't see that ok?" I begged of him.

He laughed, "It's fine," he said trying to reassure me, "I mean don't all girls read those kinds of books?"

I looked at him like he was stupid, "Yeah , old ladies, not twenty-two year olds. Most girls my age are out experiencing stuff like in those books." I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.

"You mean you've never had a boyfriend?" He looked dubious

I blushed and looked away, then shook my head no.

"How come?" He asked

"All the guys I went on dates only wanted one thing. And when I wouldn't give it to them they moved on to the next girl." I shrugged like it was no big deal, then looking at him I said, "You want to know a secret?" I asked

He looked very interested and I motioned him closer to me. He leaned down and I stood on my tippy-toes to whisper in his ear, "I have never even kissed a guy" then backed away quickly.

He looked even more shocked now, and shook his head disbelieving, "No one has ever kissed you before?" He asked

"Well a couple have tried, but I didn't let them," I shrugged before looking up at him seriously, "I guess I was always waiting for the right guy to come along, that wanted more than just sex." I told him bluntly, then shrugging I added, "I guess I should just stop waiting, hmm you know that guy that works down at the Outdoorsmen warehouse asked me out, maybe I should go back and tell him I've changed my mind." I joked.

Embry apparently didn't think I was joking because he grabbed my arms softly, but assertively and said, "No, do not do that! That guy is a total douchebag. And never, ever, settle for someone less than what you expect out of a guy. Understand me?" he asked seriously.

I just nodded with a soft smile.

Finally I turned and unlocked my front door. I was about to step inside when Embry stopped me. I looked back at him curiously.

He looked unsure of himself, then asked, "What are you doing tomorrow night?"

I told him, "I have to work the night patrol."

He looked put off but continued, "And the night after that?"

I thought about it, it was a Friday night, I shook my head, "Nothing" and looked at him expectantly.

Embry grinned, "I'll pick you up at 7pm then." And then turned away, not even giving me a chance to say no, but I called out to him, "Wait!" He turned around slowly, the look in his eye said he thought I was going to decline, but instead I said, "What should I wear?" A smile spread on his face and he said, "Whatever you feel like wearing, you always look beautiful." He turned around again and hopped into a truck with Jake. I couldn't stop the stupid grin that was on my face, he called me beautiful. I giggled and walked into my house, closing the door behind me.

* * *

><p>Here is a longer one for you guys! I got another review so thanks for that! Not sure how I particularly feel about some scenes in this chapter, anyways let me know what you think!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

The next night I found myself driving my SUV around the forest and coastline, looking for any sign of anything out of the ordinary. Then I spotted it; it would have looked like nothing to a regular person's eye, but to mine it was obvious. There was a bush mauled down by something very large. I stopped my Woodie and hopped out, one hand on the gun Pete gave me a few days earlier when he found out I knew how to handle one. I followed the newly made rough trail, it was hard to tell what could have made it, possibly a number of things. I continued following it deeper into the forest, before coming to a clearing. I was looking around trying to pick up the trail again when I hear a howl in the near distance. I mentally cursed myself, I had completely forgotten that there were wolves in these parts.

The rain started coming down all of the sudden, and before I could make it back to the trail I just come from I heard a bush near by rustle with movement. I froze still. What do you do when confronted with a wolf? You stay still right? Don't make any sudden movement? Or do you run for it? All of the options sounded stupid to me. But I was frozen with fright anyways. Then I saw two glowing eyes looking at me from the bushes, I gulped. Then out walked the largest grey wolf I had ever seen, well I had never actually seen a wolf in real life, they don't live anywhere in California, but I knew that no wolf should be this big. The thing was as tall as me, if not taller.

"Oh my god" I whispered scared out of my wits.

The wolf stopped just inside the clearing, there were more howls in the distance, there's more? I questioned to myself, well of course there are, they travel in packs.

The wolf in front of me lowered its head with its ears flatten against its head. My breath hitched as it eased forward some more. It was slowly coming toward me. I slowly backed away, but before I knew it my back hit a tree and I was cornered as the wolf continued toward me.

I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen, I was going to die, here and now. Then there was nothing. Nothing had happened, with a soft whimper I opened one eye, the wolf was right in front of me now, I could touch him if I just barely reached out. The wolf whimpered in return, I looked at him completely now. If he was going to kill me he would have surely done it by now.

"God I'm stupid" I muttered to myself before I slowly reached out with one hand. His fur looked incredibly smooth and up kept for a wild animal. The wolf lowered his head and put it underneath my hand. The fur between his ears was soft and smooth and thick. I giggled as a rumbling sound came from his chest and his eyes closed as I pet him, then I stroked his dark grey muzzle and he leaned into my palm. Then the bushes near by rustled again, the wolf's head whipped around suddenly, and he turned his body so that he was shielding me from whatever it was. Another wolf appeared from the bushes, this one was equally large and reddish brown in color. I grabbed the fur on the side of the grey wolf shielding me, out of fright. The wolves stared at each other, before the red wolf turned and trotted away. I breathed a sigh of relief, and buried my face into the side of the wolf, "What a night this has been." I muttered. I looked up to see the wolf looking over it's shoulder at me.

That night I dreamed of the grey wolf I seemed to have befriended that night. The next day I worked in the morning, and by the time I had gotten home, it was 4:00pm. I spent the next three hours getting ready for my date with Embry; it was considered a date...right? By the time 7:00pm rolled around I was incredibly anxious, and already waiting in the living room for him to knock on my door.

With my knee bouncing up and down I checked the time once more on my phone, it was now 7:45pm. I scoffed, "Have I seriously been stood up? By someone who asked _me_ out?" I was truly flabbergasted. Eventually around 10:30pm I gave up waiting and went up to my room to change into my pajamas and wash off my perfectly done makeup. I was beyond pissed off, confused, and plain hurt when my phone started going off. I looked at the screen and saw an unknown number, the first thing that came to my mind was that it was Embry calling with some kind of excuse, but being the stubborn girl I am, I shut my phone off and went to bed early that night.

It was a week later, a Sunday, and I was walking the main street of Forks going in and out of different stores, picking up new clothes here and there. I was in one store, looking through a rack by the large front window in the small boutique that looked out onto the main street, when for some reason I looked up and gazed out of the window. Across the street was a an old motorcycle I recognized all too well, it was the bike I had given to Jake, and upon further pondering, I remembered that Jake had in turn given the bike to the person who had worked on my SUV, Embry. There was someone sitting behind him on the bike, a girl, and after detaching herself from him she got off the bike, she was beautiful with her tanned skin and long dark hair. My blood boiled. This douchebag had stood me up on our so-called "date", and here he was a week later riding around town on the bike _I_ gave him, with a beautiful girl on the back! I was so pissed off. I glared out of the window towards them as Embry got off the bike; his back was toward me, but as I glared holes into his back, he seemed to sense something as he stiffened and turned around suddenly looking directly into the store window I was in. I quickly turned around and tried to shield myself behind another, larger, rack of clothing.

I looked out of the corner of my eye and to my relief saw that the pair had disappeared. I a heavy sigh of relief I hung my, more than pissed off, I was hurt. I had genuinely believed that Embry was different than every other guy in my past, apparently not. I turned to head out of the store, when I was met with a large chest. My eyes widened, because I had not heard anyone walking up behind me, I looked up and met the gaze of one Embry Call. "Shit" I thought to myself. Embry didn't look very happy as he looked down at me. It still amazed me how tall he seemed compared to my 5'7" self.

"Why haven't you answered any of my calls?" He asked

I snapped back to reality; that's right, he had been trying to get a hold of me all week.

I laughed dryly and responded, "Oh that was you? I didn't realize." I shrugged nonchalantly as I stepped around him and headed out doors.

"Don't give me that bullshit," Embry said in step with me, before stepping in front of me, making me stop and face him, "You knew that it was me, Charlotte."

I looked away from him, more than anything, I seemed to hate confrontation. Ever since I was little, if I had a problem with someone, I was the type to just let it be and not try to resolve it. It was definitely one of my flaws, because I seemed to lose very close friends over the years because I didn't like to talk things out like a normal person.

Once again I stepped around him and started walking towards me SUV again. Embry let out a frustrated sigh, but continued to follow me.

I had just gotten a hand on the door of my woodie when Embry spun me around to look at him.

"Can you just please tell me what I did wrong?" He asked with a pleading tone in his voice.

My head whipped up to look at him directly, the anger in my eyes seemed to shock him because he let go of the shoulder he had his large hand on and leaned back.

"Tell you what you did wrong? Are you serious Embry. I thought it was pretty obvious, but if you really don't get it, you don't even deserve the breath it takes to explain it to you." I spit out with venom, before opening my door.

Before I completely got in the SUV I turned to him, "Hope you enjoy the bike," I said sarcastically, before a figure across the street caught my attention, "Your _friend_ is waiting for you," He turned around and saw who I was looking out. He turned towards me and opened his mouth to say something, but wouldn't hear any of it, I said before he could start, "She's beautiful, I see why you'd want to be with her, than with someone like me." And with that final statement I slammed the door shut of my SUV and headed home. By the time I pulled into my driveway, I realized that there were tears running down my face.

Hours later I was sitting on my back deck on the bench swing reading yet again another romance book. I was wrapped in blankets, and layered in clothing, and still a little cold, but the sun setting was too beautiful to not enjoy it outside.

Then I heard something rustle just inside the forest line about twenty feet away. I looked up and gasped in fright when I saw a pair of glowing eyes staring at me. Starting to stand up, prepared to run inside, I slightly relaxed when the thing revealed itself by stepping out into my backyard fully. It was the grey wolf that only about a week and a half ago was so friendly to me, and even shielded me from the other large wolf that came out.

I was still unsure of the wolf as he stepped up to the deck, but something inside me knew that he wouldn't hurt me, so I did what any insane person would do, and walked up to him and opened the gate allowing him onto the deck with me.

I backed up and sat on the bench swing again, and the wolf laid down beside me on the ground. Laying on the swing, I stroked his fur absentmindedly. He made a sort of grunt sound that caught my attention. He was looking down at my book, I laughed as I picked it up.

Then I sighed as I resumed stroking his fur, "Is there no guy out there that's just a good guy?" I asked the wolf, "I mean a guy that will sweep me off my feet, who is sweet and gentle to me, but also protective, and hell, a little jealous from time to time. But mainly, just a man who likes me for me." I looked at the wolf who was now looking full on at me. I laughed, "I am going crazy, I'm talking to a wolf!" But I sighed and continued confessing everything to him, "You know, I thought I found a perfect guy here, but it turns out he is just like the rest of them, a total douche. First he stood me up, and waited up for hours for him, with false hope that he would show up on my doorstep. And then I see him with this beautiful girl on the bike I gave him! Ugh, it was like a slap in the face!" I closed my eyes, "I have never cried over a guy so much, and it pisses me off even more because I don't even really know him, so there shouldn't be any reason for me being so upset about this whole thing." I could feel myself drifting off, but right before I fell into sleep I muttered, "Why did Embry hurt me like that?"

The next morning I woke up tucked snuggly in my own bed. Looking around the room, I wondered how I ended up there when I knew I fell asleep outside. I had just gotten out of the shower when my phone started going off. Looking at it I confirmed it wasn't Embry, and answered it, "Hello?"

"Charlotte? This is Seth," The voice over the phone said

"Hey Seth, what's up?" I asked sitting down on the bed

"Just calling to let you know your car is ready!" He said as his usual cheerful self

"Ok thanks for calling, I can be out there..." I thought about it, how can I drive there and back with both my cars.

Seth seemed to know what I was thinking, and said, "I'm in town right now, can you be ready in about an hour? I can pick you up and take you to the shop!"

I laughed, "What would I do without you Seth."

After hanging up, I looked through my closet, I knew that Embry would be at the shop, he worked there after all, and I subconsciously wanted to look my best. It was a sunny day outside surprisingly, so I was able to put on my sequined black, gold, and silver scalloped shorts, and a black tight neckline top that ended just above the waistband of my shorts. I threw on my waterfall neckline leather jacket, and a pair of black ankle boots; then to finish it off, I applied dark red lipstick, and put on random gold rings.

I had just finished blow drying my hair, letting it fall in my natural waves, when Seth knocked on the door. "I really need to fix the doorbell" I thought to myself.

We headed to the shop in mainly silence, it must have been awkward for him because he was friends with Embry, and no doubt knew of the events that unfolded between us. We were almost to the shop when Seth spoke up, "You know, the girl Embry was with yesterday was Leah, she's my sister, and most definitely involved with Embry in any way. He was just giving her a lift to meet up with the guys for lunch. In fact, all week he couldn't stop talking about you. I know you guys had planned going out last Friday, but something came up on the rez. Someone trespassed and damaged a couple border fences. That's why Embry couldn't make it, he and some of the older guys were busy tracking down the trespasser."

I sat in silence the whole way to the shop. I felt incredibly bad about mistaking Leah for being Embry's girlfriend, and that Embry did in fact have a valid reason for not being able to make it that night, but as I explained to Seth, "Why didn't he tell me any of that? He wanted me to explain to him why I was upset. That killed me Seth, he didn't even get it."

Seth sat in silence as we pulled into the shop's parking lot, then said, "Guys are stupid."

I laughed at his statement and turned to get out of the car, he said to me, "Just, go easy on him, okay? I can guarantee you that he never had the intention of hurting you, he wouldn't dream of it." The look he gave me softened my expression, and I nodded.

We got out of the car, and Embry came strolling out. He was, after all, the one who fixed my car.

"Hey." He said as he got up to me, Seth retreated into the office after getting out.

"Hi" I said looking at the ground, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"Your car is ready to go," He said gesturing to my white beauty ten steps away.

"Cool thanks." I said walking up to it.

"Let's take it for a ride to see if everything was fixed just right" He suggested.

Even though the last thing I wanted to do was be in a small cramped car with him, I agreed and got into the driver's seat.

As I drove down the road I noted how smooth it shifted, "It didn't even feel this good the day I got it!" I said unable to control the smile that appeared on my face.

"Was this your first car?" He asked sounding genuinely interested.

Momentarily forgetting how upset I was with him, I responded, "Yeah, a family friend had it just sitting in their driveway, and asked if I wanted it! I fell in love with this car the first time I saw it. Though it took me forever to learn and get comfortable with the clutch."

Silence then took over the conversation, and the tension in the air could be cut with a knife. I knew Embry had something on his mind, but just didn't know how to say it, and I had plenty on my own, but knew I would never say anything first.

"Pull over here." Embry instructed, not questioning him I did as I was told.

Stopping the car, Embry got out and walked to the front of it, leaning on the hood as he looked out over the water. I got out and joined him. I knew that eventually one of us would have to say something, so I started just as he did. We both said, "I'm sorry". We looked at each other, smiles threatening to appear on both of our faces.

He started again, "I'm sorry, about last Friday, and especially about yesterday."

I sighed and stared out at the water, "I'm the one who should be apologizing, not you. Seth told me that, that girl yesterday was his sister, Leah, and you were just giving her a ride; and that last Friday you had a very good reason for not being able to go out. I hope by the way that you caught whomever trespassed on the reservation. Being the incredibly stubborn person I am, I didn't answer your calls, and when I saw Leah yesterday with you I just got so pissed off."

"I should have made a better effort at apologizing about Friday, I should have come over and apologized in person." He said afterwards.

A moment of silence passed before he continued with a mischievous smile, "You know, jealous you was kind of hot."

I laughed out loud, then quieted down before confessing honestly, "I wasn't jealous, Embry," He gave me a look like he didn't believe me, "I wasn't," I insisted, "I was hurt. Here I was after getting -what I thought was- stood up by you, and only a week later seeing you out riding around on that motorcycle with another girl, I-I don't know, I just felt like I had been slapped in the face. Like I wasn't good enough or something." I gushed.

* * *

><p>Here you are! From here on out I am having to write the newest chapters as we go, I have posted all of what I had already written. So please forgive me for not being able to post as regularly, my goal is to post at least every other day, but I have two other stories (which you all should definitely check out) going at the same time, plus my everyday life as well to tend to. Thank you for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review! It encourages me to write faster ;)<p> 


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